Database Info

[SOLVED] Moto G 4.4.3 Update Puts Phone in Boot Loop?

I have a Moto G X1032 rooted with TWRP installed. I've been using the stock firmware for 4.4.2 without any issues for a while, but after June 6th's OTA update to 4.4.3, my phone has gotten stuck in a boot loop. It turns on and runs Android as usual, without any issues, for less than a minute and then shuts down. It then continues to boot back up and continue the process. The only way to stop the loop is to boot into the bootloader from TWRP and power off the phone from there. Luckily I have a backup to that reverts me back to 4.4.2, which successfully stops the loop. But after several attempts to update to 4.4.3, it has become quite clear that this boot loop is inevitable unless I stick with 4.4.2. I read an article that seems to address some conflict with rooted phones and 4.4.3, but I'm not quite sure what the conflict is. Can anyone explain to me why this boot loop is most likely happening, what I could do to fix it, or if it is even possible to have a rooted X1032 with 4.4.3 installed? Any help whatsoever would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

Are you saying you tried to install the OTA with TWRP installed and not the stock recovery?

Just go into recovery clear all cache,kavik cache that should do

NerdNoob1210 said:
I have a Moto G X1032 rooted with TWRP installed. I've been using the stock firmware for 4.4.2 without any issues for a while, but after June 6th's OTA update to 4.4.3, my phone has gotten stuck in a boot loop. It turns on and runs Android as usual, without any issues, for less than a minute and then shuts down. It then continues to boot back up and continue the process. The only way to stop the loop is to boot into the bootloader from TWRP and power off the phone from there. Luckily I have a backup to that reverts me back to 4.4.2, which successfully stops the loop. But after several attempts to update to 4.4.3, it has become quite clear that this boot loop is inevitable unless I stick with 4.4.2. I read an article that seems to address some conflict with rooted phones and 4.4.3, but I'm not quite sure what the conflict is. Can anyone explain to me why this boot loop is most likely happening, what I could do to fix it, or if it is even possible to have a rooted X1032 with 4.4.3 installed? Any help whatsoever would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The bootloop is caused by the recovery. It can't update 4.4.3 and keeps trying. Start the update again and let the OTA file download, then copy it out of /cache and into the sdcard. If it's not in cache it won't bootloop. I suggest flashing PhilZ recovery and updating with that instead. Flash the file in the sdcard and post whatever errors are listed...

secretkloud said:
The bootloop is caused by the recovery. It can't update 4.4.3 and keeps trying. Start the update again and let the OTA file download, then copy it out of /cache and into the sdcard. If it's not in cache it won't bootloop. I suggest flashing PhilZ recovery and updating with that instead. Flash the file in the sdcard and post whatever errors are listed...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you. I will try that. Before I do though, do you know of any places I could find 4.4.3 online, so I could just download it from my PC and flash it over via sideload? I usually prefer to flash things that way, rather than straight from the phone.

bozzykid said:
Are you saying you tried to install the OTA with TWRP installed and not the stock recovery?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes. This is my first time doing so, excuse my lack of knowledge on the subject. In retrospect, I suppose I should have known there must be a different method with which I install it. Secretkloud gave me a good suggestion though. Is there a reason in particular as to why I can't do OTA updates with custom recovery installed?

secretkloud said:
The bootloop is caused by the recovery. It can't update 4.4.3 and keeps trying. Start the update again and let the OTA file download, then copy it out of /cache and into the sdcard. If it's not in cache it won't bootloop. I suggest flashing PhilZ recovery and updating with that instead. Flash the file in the sdcard and post whatever errors are listed...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I just downloaded the zip from my phone and flashed it from Phillz recovery. It worked very well and the update was successful. Thanks for pointing me to Phillz recovery by the way. It's the only functional recovery image that allows me to mount the sdcard.

NerdNoob1210 said:
Thank you. I will try that. Before I do though, do you know of any places I could find 4.4.3 online, so I could just download it from my PC and flash it over via sideload? I usually prefer to flash things that way, rather than straight from the phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Copy the one you have in your phone onto your PC. Smallest chance of error if you do it that way...

it's not easy getting out of the loop.
I did a factory reload of a rooted phone with CWM.
Now for the CWM issue the Moto G loaded OK and then said there was an update for android to fix some bugs. This was 4.4.3. I loaded it and it gets half way and it then says
"Signature verification fail"
at the bottom of the screen and
" Install Untrusted Package"
The options are yes, no or go back
at the top....
whichever one I try it then tries to boot shows the Android / Motorola screen and starts up gets a txt message for 2-3 seconds... it then goes back to Android CWM recovery with the same options as above and repeats the process. again and again and again. No function keys will stop this cycle which just repeats again. This continues until the battery dies.
any ideas ? how can I override this action in CWM v6.0.4.6 and force it to do a factory reload ? any help or advice much appreciated.

If you can still power your phone, can you still access the boot loader? If so, I would suggest using adb from a computer to flash Phillz recovery. CWM always gave me a lot of random errors when flashing items. You could use PhillZ to flash the stock ROM for 4.4.2. After that, just follow the same process I did. Download the update zip via the OTA download when it prompts you. Once it's finished, DON'T boot back into Android. Boot into Phillz recovery from the boot loader, move the zip out of the cache and onto sdcard or your computer, and then flash it either straight from the phone or by sideloading it from your computer. Then you'll have a working version of vanilla 4.4.3, and you can flash over a custom ROM in the future if you so choose.
Sent from my XT1032 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

NerdNoob1210 said:
If you can still power your phone, can you still access the boot loader? If so, I would suggest using adb from a computer to flash Phillz recovery. CWM always gave me a lot of random errors when flashing items. You could use PhillZ to flash the stock ROM for 4.4.2. After that, just follow the same process I did. Download the update zip via the OTA download when it prompts you. Once it's finished, DON'T boot back into Android. Boot into Phillz recovery from the boot loader, move the zip out of the cache and onto sdcard or your computer, and then flash it either straight from the phone or by sideloading it from your computer. Then you'll have a working version of vanilla 4.4.3, and you can flash over a custom ROM in the future if you so choose.
Sent from my XT1032 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
unfortunately I can't get into bootloader. I can connect usb and it makes no difference. therefore adb commands dont work. it just goes straight into screen described with those three options. I'm hoping that there is an override action in CWM which isn't power and volume down which do nothing.
thanks for the suggestion tho. it was a good idea.

Hm... Without access to the boot loader, I'm not sure there's much of anything you can do anymore... You've completely lost the ability to communicate any sort of commands to your phone save for the 3 options that menu provides. I assume that what CWM is trying to do is install the zip from your cache and is failing to do so. The only viable option would be to flash a new recovery image and install the zip manually, but that's impossible for you given your current circumstances. I would give up looking for an override command for CWM, your best hope is to find an alternative means with which you can access your boot loader. I suggest you start a thread dedicated to your issue and see if a more experienced user can provide you with the information you need. Sorry, I hope you get the help you need. :/
Sent from my XT1032 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

Thanks for trying to help. I have followed your advice and opened a thread
NerdNoob1210 said:
Hm... Without access to the boot loader, I'm not sure there's much of anything you can do anymore... You've completely lost the ability to communicate any sort of commands to your phone save for the 3 options that menu provides. I assume that what CWM is trying to do is install the zip from your cache and is failing to do so. The only viable option would be to flash a new recovery image and install the zip manually, but that's impossible for you given your current circumstances. I would give up looking for an override command for CWM, your best hope is to find an alternative means with which you can access your boot loader. I suggest you start a thread dedicated to your issue and see if a more experienced user can provide you with the information you need. Sorry, I hope you get the help you need. :/
Sent from my XT1032 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

IT WAS THE FINAL STEP... and it did not work. (Stuck on boot loader warning screen)

FINAL EDIT: FIXED!!! Sparsechunk files 1,2and 3 have to match the exact name with the firmware folder sparsechunk files.
I did not notice that my firmware sparsechunk files ended in .0 .1 .2 and not 1 2 3 like the tutorial had listed, so I was fastbooting the wrong sparsechunk command. That was the final fix that finally worked for me.
Original post:
SHORT VERSION:
My god this has been one crazy root journey.
I have done absolutely EVERYTHING I could pull up on google to fix my phone, and what seemed to be the final piece to the puzzle, still has not fixed anything.
My phone is bricked, and i would really appreciate help at this point.
The current problem:
When I turn on my phone, it vibrates, and displays the WARNING BOOT LOADER UNLOCKED screen, and stays there forever.
I can access my boot loader, and recovery, but I dont know what to do at this point.
I tried a quick flash stock recovery kit kat with moto tool AIO, and it didnt help.
Any ideas?
LONG VERSION (backround info may help to understand the current issue)
Now, if you want to know what began all of this, continue reading, otherwise the above is my current issue.
After successfully unlocking and rooting my phone
I downloaded SWITCHME, an app that lets you create multible users on the phone. the instructions say that you can use a sub account to test and mess around with anything because you can simply go back to the admin account that has everything untouched.
That was a lie.
1.I deleted .setup, along with a few other things THAT WHERE NOT FLAGGED AS IMPORTANT, assuming the phone would still work. and my phone went bonkers, displaying this infinite message: UNFORTUNATELY, SETUP HAS STOPPED. It was impossible to use the phone, and I could only access bootloader.
2.After endless googling, driver downloading, xda mod installing, I managed to set up my boot loader to do the guide restore stock firmware:http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2542219
Sadly, I flashed the wrong model number package, I was flashing x35, when I later discovered that my phone is x45.
Flashing the x35 firmware bricked my phone further, to where it would "fail to boot up" and would only display bootloader over and over after attempting to turn the phone on.
3. Simple, I realized I flashed the wrong thing, so I downloaded the x45 firmware from the firmware teem on this website, flashed all of the commands, and bam, the phone starts up with the boot loader warning, and DOES NOT get stuck in the previous boot loader issue I had.
But now the phone wont get past that warning screen so... now im pissed.
Please, if anyone can help me I would greatly appreciate it, Im so close to getting my phone back...
EDIT 2: Looks like the phone wont stay shut down, I realized that if I dont open up boot loader, it will turn itself on and display the warning message.
EDIT:
The stuffs I have, ready to try anything:
CWM touch mod
Moto Tool AIO
Minimal ADB and Fast boot
RETUS x1045 factory firmware
All directories, folders, cmd commands are set up and working properly between all of the programs.
The phone appears to be responding to all cmd commands properly.
I also have the windows one touch super boot root method. (he superboot-windows.bat )
Im afraid to try anything major after freshly flashing the x45 firmware that seemed to bring me one step closer without the help of someone else.

I restored stock to my phone using this link yesturday http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/how-restore-motorola-moto-g-stock-firmware-1447290
it may work for you

I have almost the same problem as if the fastboot not install anything despite not display errors

great that you got it done.
maybe my few cents about my "bricking" story. (xt1032 moto g)
yesterday i wanted to change the rom from cm11 nightly to another custom rom like ehndroix/carbonrom...
first i thought that will be done in a few mins, after having already flashed a custom rom.
then the story began, getting adb work, but, 2weeks ago everything was setup and went fine. dunno why my laptop lost the "drivers".
thats the link which solved that problem: tinyurl . com / kgffjh4 [sorry cant post links outside of xda yet, spam protection]
so after a few hours of getting that fixed i, i began flashing.
suddently i got stuck in bootscreen (ehndroix logo for example)...
then i wanted to go back with my previous backup made internaly of clockworkmod. though i couldnt restore my backup because there was an error message while restoring /data of my backup
also when restoring to factory/wipe in cwm there was that error message about clouldnt "touch" /data, i dont remember the message exactly.
after thinking i bricked everything, i though lets wipe my internal sdcard, maybe that causes the /data error.
then i restarted the device and went for a shower... after 15min i came back and my device was "started".
now i dont know that exactly helped, maybe wiping all data on my phone, or just letting my device boot for a "long" time...
so, thats my yesterdays brick story.

do a factory reset if the bootloader has that option.. otherwise install or run/boot a custom revovery, then either
try the factory reset option there and reboot or..
wipe everything and install a rom

Ok try this, I'm was a victim too:
Relock and unlock bootloader
Download and flash latest Philz
From there format everything...EVERY PARTITION...switch F2FS
After switching wipe every partition again
Select and execute the other 3 wiping option ie., Clean to install new ROM and the other 2 (I can't remember now)
Do this all over again via TWRP too
Now, this is important, don't use the mfastboot for restoring stock...use the one provided by Google for its Android SDK
Flash the stock images
Flash the Moto Razr boot animation and not the one for Moto G to remove the warning sign
I'm 99.99% sure your phone will boot properly
After the phone boots, reflash the Moto G bootanimation
Good Luck!

ngr.hd said:
Ok try this, I'm was a victim too:
Relock and unlock bootloader
Download and flash latest Philz
From there format everything...EVERY PARTITION...switch F2FS
After switching wipe every partition again
Select and execute the other 3 wiping option ie., Clean to install new ROM and the other 2 (I can't remember now)
Do this all over again via TWRP too
Now, this is important, don't use the mfastboot for restoring stock...use the one provided by Google for its Android SDK
Flash the stock images
Flash the Moto Razr boot animation and not the one for Moto G to remove the warning sign
I'm 99.99% sure your phone will boot properly
After the phone boots, reflash the Moto G bootanimation
Good Luck!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I try to flash any recovery but after entering I get an android and says no commands, and installation does not throw errors

angelgzg said:
I try to flash any recovery but after entering I get an android and says no commands, and installation does not throw errors
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You're still in stock recovery.
Use fastboot flash recovery xyz.zip to flash philz recovery
Use this when you're in bootloader mode.

ngr.hd said:
You're still in stock recovery.
Use fastboot flash recovery xyz.zip to flash philz recovery
Use this when you're in bootloader mode.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I flash the recovery but rebooted into recovery, the android keeps popping up (no commands)

FINAL EDIT: FIXED!!! Sparsechunk files 1,2and 3 have to match the exact name with the firmware folder sparsechunk files.
I did not notice that my firmware sparsechunk files ended in .0 .1 .2 and not 1 2 3 like the tutorial had listed, so I was fastbooting the wrong sparsechunk command. That was the final fix that finally worked for me.
Sorry I'm traveling a d couldnt update thread fast enough.

XCover 3 (SM-G388F) root on 5.1.1

So, I received this phone as an award in a competition, and when I wanted to root it... nope. No root for this phone. Only for 4.4.4, but I hate ****Kat and I don't want it. So, I updated to 5.1.1 and I was looking for root.. didn't find anything. And those "universal" roots such as KingRoot, Kingo Root, TowelRoot didn't work. I also tried installing TWRP, but after installing it and rebooting into it, the phone got stuck on "recovery is not seandroid enforcing". After booting the phone and than entering the recovery, the "recovery is not seandroid enforcing" appeared again, but instead of getting stuck, the stock recovery booted. So I flashed the stock rom with stock recovery just to remove that annoying error via odin.
Any ideas how to root this f*****g knox device?
Thanks

Please..

i have the same probleme. Nothing work for root.

Hi together, i am mucho interested, too.
Also slightly skilled linux user, so if anyone has a clue where to start rooting this thing i can give it a try.

Mhh I also need a way to root this device because I need a full Image of my /data Partition.
My first idea was to flash the Kitkat bootloader and TWRP. However it will not but a L /system.
So we need a custom L system image which has the already installed SuperSU.
I really like to try it but however my task is to restore photos and not to hardbrick this phone.
Can anybody try a custom /sytem image which is Prerooted? Heimdall should be able to flash it.

_Beni_ said:
Mhh I also need a way to root this device because I need a full Image of my /data Partition.
My first idea was to flash the Kitkat bootloader and TWRP. However it will not but a L /system.
So we need a custom L system image which has the already installed SuperSU.
I really like to try it but however my task is to restore photos and not to hardbrick this phone.
Can anybody try a custom /sytem image which is Prerooted? Heimdall should be able to flash it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you have a clue where to find such images i can try. Without root this phone is useless to me, so i wouldn't mind bricking it

Tried to flash SBOOT, SBOOT2, Loke_Primary, Loke_Recovery ... it is now hard broken
Yeah maybe i forgot it has no Qualcomm processor where you even can flash a image even you dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/mmc.
Now giving my old OnePlus Two to her.
You need to register at SAMMobile there you can the latest 5.1.1 for xcover3, you need to extract the image with 7zip then unpack the system.img with sparsed, then mount it via loop-back device. Now umount it, repack the image with sparse and flash the result into SYSTEM with heimdall.
Good luck, I ****ed it up

Oh sh*t, sorry to hear dude! Okay, this evening i can give it a try. Am i guessing right that i want to put the SuperSU binary into the /system/app? Or what's the best way to root this?

todomade said:
Oh sh*t, sorry to hear dude! Okay, this evening i can give it a try. Am i guessing right that i want to put the SuperSU binary into the /system/app? Or what's the best way to root this?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, however I'm not sure how su exactly works.
I know took a look at UPDATE-SuperSU.zip.
This lines are interesting:
if ($SAMSUNG); then
# Prevent "KERNEL IS NOT SEANDROID ENFORCING"
SAMSUNG_CHECK=$(cat /sutmp/boot.img | grep SEANDROIDENFORCE)
if [ $? -ne 0 ]; then
echo -n "SEANDROIDENFORCE" >> /sutmp/boot.img
fi
fi
dd if=/sutmp/boot.img of=$BOOTIMAGE bs=4096
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It seems its just appends SEANDROIDENFORCE at the end of the boot.img and then flashes it.
Maybe it is the same for the recovery.
You could just try to "echo -n "SEANDROIDENFORCE" >> twrp-3.0.2-*.img"
and then flash this image via heimdall.

Okay, looks like i should dig some deeper into that matter. I guess i can try your suggestion within the next week. I'll post an update if i make any progress.

_Beni_ said:
Yeah, however I'm not sure how su exactly works.
I know took a look at UPDATE-SuperSU.zip.
This lines are interesting:
[...]
It seems its just appends SEANDROIDENFORCE at the end of the boot.img and then flashes it.
Maybe it is the same for the recovery.
You could just try to "echo -n "SEANDROIDENFORCE" >> twrp-3.0.2-*.img"
and then flash this image via heimdall.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Okay i tried it, sadly no success.
Still getting "Recovery is not Seandroid Enforcing" and default recovery
Will now try to pack a boot.img myself and flash it.
Other approaches or tips are highly appreciated!

Is the "Recovery is not seandroid enforcing" showing up on the most recent build of twrp, 3.0.2.0. For the lollipop build of the device?? I want some confirmation before deciding to flash twrp and then supersu into my phone running lollipop?
Newest twrp link: https://dl.twrp.me/xcover3ltexx/

Matt07211 said:
Is the "Recovery is not seandroid enforcing" showing up on the most recent build of twrp, 3.0.2.0. For the lollipop build of the device??
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Affirmative.

VolterPL said:
Affirmative.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So do you mean that the "recovery is not seandroid enforcing" shows up with the newest twrp build (3.0.2-0) for our device while running lollipop? Are you able to use the twrp recovery and phone as normal even though that message flashes on boot.
I geuss a fix could be compiling the kernel with the flag disabled on the flag that stops you from switching between enforcing and permissive modes. As done on this guide, http://graemehill.ca/compiling-permissive-android-kernel/ . This would allow the recovery to set itself to be running in permissive mode, when it runs "setenforce 0" as seen
https://github.com/TeamWin/android_device_samsung_xcover3ltexx/blob/android-4.4/init.rc
The source code for the Samsung phone, http://opensource.samsung.com/reception/receptionSub.do?method=sub&sub=F&searchValue=g388f
I am willing to build/compile the kernel, but due to this phone being my main phone, I am not in a position to test it out, would anyone here be willing to try?
The modified kernel will also allow you to run the OS in permissive mode if done through the terminal.

Matt07211 said:
So do you mean that the "recovery is not seandroid enforcing" shows up with the newest twrp build (3.0.2-0) for our device while running lollipop? Are you able to use the twrp recovery and phone as normal even though that message flashes on boot.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, I can confirm it's true. The phone works fine. When I try to go to the recovery mode, it shows said message and boots to the stock recovery.

VolterPL said:
Yes, I can confirm it's true. The phone works fine. When I try to go to the recovery mode, it shows said message and boots to the stock recovery.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I got a few questions to ask
How are you flashing the twrp image? Is it via odin and are you using the newest twrp build (3.0.2-0)
I am willing to work, read up and compile anything necessary to get the recovery working on the device, but due to it being my only phone I cant afford to mess around with it much, so are you willing to try out stuff for me e.g. flashing a custom kernel with the ability to toggle selinux modes?
I believe a fix for the "recovery is not seandroid enforcing" can be fixed if I recompile the kernel with a flag set to false (It a custom flag from samsung that disallows the changing of selinux modes, "EXTRA_CFLAGS += -DCONFIG_ALWAYS_ENFORCE=false") allowing for the twrp recovery to change "setenforce 1" to a "0" allowing the recovery to run in permissive mode. http://graemehill.ca/compiling-permissive-android-kernel/ , https://su.chainfire.eu/#selinux , https://source.android.com/security/selinux/
If you are willing to help test for me I would really appreciate it And once I get the recovery working I am gonna root my phone by flashing the SuperSu.zip.

Matt07211 said:
How are you flashing the twrp image? Is it via odin and are you using the newest twrp build (3.0.2-0)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, I am using the newest Odin and the newest TWRP, downloaded from TWRP site.
I would like to help you if, and only if, there's absolutely no chance of bricking my phone as I've bought it recently for quite a lot (at least for me). I don't care about warranty, as well as triggering KNOX.

VolterPL said:
I would like to help you if, and only if, there's absolutely no chance of bricking my phone as I've bought it recently for quite a lot (at least for me). I don't care about warranty, as well as triggering KNOX.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can't say that their is not a chance for a brick, but all I am changing is one single flag from "true" to "flase". Their is always a chance at bricking your phone when working with root, tons, custom recovery and kernels as you are messing with the system, but as long as you have either a backup (nandroid) or now how to fix it (flashing stock firmware), their is very little chance of screwing up, and if screwed up you will in almost all cases be able to fix the problem
But yea if the device stuffs up some how e.g. unable to boot you would able to boot your phone into "download mode" and flash stock firmware, although losing you data e.g. apps,. Your phone would be back in a functional state.
Once I am able to get the recovery working properly (booting and running (in permissive mode)) I will root my phone, make a nandroid backup and then I am willing to start adding custom goveners to the kernel and would be willing to share/get help devloping the kernel in the future.
I might be able to provide the kernel later this week (internet limitations are the reason for a long wait) and will post instructions on how to flash the kernel, and how to flash stock firmware (for either you stuffed up and need to fix the phone, or for testing properly with everything at stock and then working the way up, kernel and then twrp)
So if you are willing, i would appreciate the help if given

Matt07211 said:
I can't say that their is not a chance for a brick, but all I am changing is one single flag from "true" to "flase". Their is always a chance at bricking your phone when working with root, tons, custom recovery and kernels as you are messing with the system, but as long as you have either a backup (nandroid) or now how to fix it (flashing stock firmware), their is very little chance of screwing up, and if screwed up you will in almost all cases be able to fix the problem
But yea if the device stuffs up some how e.g. unable to boot you would able to boot your phone into "download mode" and flash stock firmware, although losing you data e.g. apps,. Your phone would be back in a functional state.
Once I am able to get the recovery working properly (booting and running (in permissive mode)) I will root my phone, make a nandroid backup and then I am willing to start adding custom goveners to the kernel and would be willing to share/get help devloping the kernel in the future.
I might be able to provide the kernel later this week (internet limitations are the reason for a long wait) and will post instructions on how to flash the kernel, and how to flash stock firmware (for either you stuffed up and need to fix the phone, or for testing properly with everything at stock and then working the way up, kernel and then twrp)
So if you are willing, i would appreciate the help if given
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
@ Matt07211 If you need a tester. here i am. But what i need is, a step by step for flashing with heimdall on linux mint 18 in easy english. mx phone is sm-g388f with 5.1.1

@VolterPL @yy1
So but this is gonna be an onslaught of questions and information, I would appreciate if you are able to work through this (READ EVERYTHING AT LEAST ONCE) and test/answer my questions.
Some info: When I was searching for info for how to use heimdall for yy1 because I never used it before, I happened to stumble upon a bit of info that I found interesting, and which may solve one of our problems.
In one of the comment sections a user mentioned that their recovery gets replaced each time with stock, a user replied mentioning that their is a script that runs at boot that replaces the recovery if its been tampered with e.g. TWRP, with a stock recovery. So with a bit of digging (ES File Explorer FTW!!) I happened to find the script mentioned in "/system/bin/install-recovery.sh" and the fix is to rename the file, therefore being unable to run at boot and therfore not replacing the custom recovery.
So I believe one (maybe all) of our problems with the recovery being unable to boot can be fixed as follows, would appreciate help/testing here.
Sidenote: I still plan to build a custom kernel, as I would like the ability to run in permissive mode if needed (also including running recovery in permissive mode as well) and adding custom governors as time progress.
Now time for the fix/instructions:
NOTE: I am not responsible for any damage to the phone, system, tripping KNOX, warranty or your insanity
1. Download Odin, I am using version v3.12.3 (sorry yy1, won't have a guide for Haimdell yet as on phone typing this out) and make sure to have ADB, Fastboot and Samsung drivers installed and backup any important files
2. Download newest SuperSu (yep we are gonna try rooting the phone) from this link: http://forum.xda-developers.com/apps/supersu/2014-09-02-supersu-v2-05-t2868133/page1
and then put it on the root of the phones internal memory
3. Download the newest TWRP image for our device, which should be 3.0.2-0, link: https://dl.twrp.me/xcover3ltexx/ which should be in the .img.tar format
4. Would probably be best to enable USB Debugging and make sure you have everything backed up and have all files downloaded and Samsung drivers working before preceding any further. If you don't then you should fix that.
5. Launch Odin and boot device into download mode (Power, Volume Down and Home buttons at the same time, for a few seconds.), ensure that the phone is connected to the computer USB port
6. Check Odin and make sure the "added" message is displayed; also, the ID:COM field should now be turned yellow or blue â?? if not, reinstall USB drivers and retry the steps from above.
7. Click on the AP button and then load the TWRP recovery file from desktop. Then, make sure Re Partition and Auto Reboot fields are not checked. Make sure especially that the auto reboot is un-ticked, or this wont work properly as the install-recovery.sh would be able to work before we could get into the recovery at least once.
8. Click "Start" and once finished the â??passâ? message will be displayed; also the ID:COM field will be turned green â?? then you should unplug the USB cord and reboot your device into recovery mode (Reboot straight into recovery or you are gonna have to flash it all over again, due to the install-recovery.sh script)
9. Once in recovery, do a nandroid backup and then flash the SuperSu.zip and reboot
10. Verify that you have root and then download and install a file manager that allows you to modify the /system area, I suggest ES File Explorer and then navigate to "/system/bin/install-recovery.sh" and rename the "install-recovery.sh" to "install-recovery.sh.bak". On a side note, according to the TWRP page, if you boot into TWRP at least once it will patch the stock ROM to prevent this happening. So if TWRP has acctually done this then you probably wont need to modify this file, but try rebooting into recovery at least once after booting to the android OS to see if TWRP is their before modifying the file. If TWRP is their then you can skip the last step.
11. Now due to the "install-recovery.sh" script running at the most recent boot, we will have to re-flash the TWRP recovery once more as the current recovery has been reverted back to stock due to the script. So repeat the steps to flash TWRP one more time and verify that the recovery is persistent across reboots etc.
Outcomes:
- Should have a persistent recovery due to the disabling of "install-recovery.sh" script
- Should have Root on the phone
Stuff wanted to be completed in the future:
- IF this has actually worked, I would like feedback once completed the above steps stating if recovery is persistent across boots and can verify root access. If this worked I will write up a separate thread for rooting this phone and see if we can then get a section on XDA for this phone
- Recompiling the kernel to allow the changing of selinux modes between "enforcing" and "permissive", and as time progresses adding more CPU governors. I will be working to develop this myself so any help would be appreciated.
NOTES/Questions:
- Appreciate your input if this is successful
- If it still flashes the "recovery is not seandroid enforcing" and if the recovery still works in spite of that fact
- If you achieved root, please mention this
- Thank you for taking the time to read and test this if you do
- @yy1 I will write a tutorial for using Heimdall depending on this success of rooting and twrp this phone
Sorry for the wall of text and good luck

Stuck in a bootloop, please help

Hey,
Quick rundown: Stuck in a bootloop to some sort of empty bootloader screen which has the readout:
"Start/Restart Bootloader/Recovery Mode/Power Off"
"Press volume key to select, and press power key to select"[Regarding above options]
"FastBoot Mode
PRODUCT_NAME - sdm845
VARIANT - SDM UFS
BOOTLOADER VERSION -
BASEBAND VERSION -
SERIAL NUMBER - [Gonna leave this out for now]
SECURE BOOT - yes
DEVICE STATE - unlocked" [this line is in red]​
Every choice besides Power Off returns me to the same window. What can I do to recover from this?
Background:
So I was trying to update my OP6 to the current OxygenOS while keeping my root using TWRP and Magisk, which I've done in the past without any issue(i.e. go in recovery flash OS, flash current TWRP, reboot back to recovery, flash current Magisk as I understand it). However this time I was running into an issue flashing the Oxygen update getting an error that said it "failed to map file" for the zip. My first instinct was to update TWRP to see if the newest version didn't run into this issue so I flashed that followed by the current Magisk(no reboot in between). After booting back to standard operations everything seemed fine. I went back into recovery and tried the OS update again, but hit the same issue.
I couldn't find anything specific to OP6 with this issue, but similar questions with other devices suggested clearing the dalvik cache, which I tried to no useful effect. Then I came across this thread (forums.oneplus.com/threads/oxygen-os3-i-have-a-problem-please-help.440587/page-2 too new to hyperlink) and did what I think really messed me up which was boldly follow this guy's advice to do an advanced wipe of everything but internal storage(I also left USB storage intact) from TWRP. This failed to fix the issue with the file mapping error when I subsequently tried to flash the update, though I was able to flash TWRP and Magisk successfully again before rebooting and ending up in this loop.
Any assistance in fixing this or general tips on how to not be foolish when messing around with this stuff is greatly appreciated.

Update:
So I followed the advice gleaned from the resourceful person here(https://forum.xda-developers.com/oneplus-6t/help/bootloader-baseband-versions-blank-t3927565) to try working with the device from my computer with fastboot. At first it would recognize the device as "Android" but be unable to find a driver for it and adb/fastboot both failed to recognize it as a device. After installing MiniTool(more as a way to backup what was on the SD card) the proper device driver also got installed and I was able to access it with fastboot; I ran into similar issues as the linked thread above, solved it by switching to b(still failed) then back to a.
Currently I've got it booted into TWRP and I'm working on getting the current Oxygen .zip copied onto the phone storage but the transfer keeps failing after moving a negligible amount.
Update 2:
Via TWRP was able to sideload the current up-to-date standard OS onto it, however my Google backup seems to have decided to disappear on me and the only OP backup I have is ages old. Anyone have recommendations on data recovery tools?

next time just dont change the build.prop file.
serious, it just breaks the system.
heppened to me too.

NickTheHuy said:
next time just dont change the build.prop file.
serious, it just breaks the system.
heppened to me too.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good to know, thanks for the info!
I assume that happened when I messed around with advanced wipe, do you know which of the folders I selected that would have been under? And just for future awareness, would that have not occurred had I just used TWRP's standard wipe instead?

You can run a program that will install 9.0.6 from scratch, running a batch file...
Save my life before yesterday....

Your device is bricked
If able to access the TWRP recovery then boot into twrp and try to get all the data stored in your computer.
Then use the Qualcomm flash tool to completely recover from your hard bricked OP6.
from here https://forum.xda-developers.com/oneplus-6/how-to/op6-collection-unbrick-tools-t3914109
Then its easy, again unlock boot-loader flash TWRP and magisk.

Google Pixel - No apply update from ADB in recovery and other strange things

Hello everyone,
The starting situation is the Google Pixel of my mother was stuck on android 8.0. While showing there was an update available, the update would always fail to install after the reboot in the process. I found advice to factory reset the phone and then update, but this didn't help.
So my first thought was, if the update won't install the normal way I will do it manually. Google OTA installation guide says, get file (latest), reboot to recovery, plug in to USB, choose apply update by adb.
At this point the guide loses me, because the recovery screen I get to only lists reboot, reboot bootloader, simlock tool and device info tool (see picture). The device info will only tell "failed to update device info". The simlock tool just says "failed to enable simlock". Further while on this screen the phone isn't visible as an ADB device any more.
Next thing to try cause this didn't work was getting the image file (latest) from Google and flashing it through fastboot flash all, which led to a boot loop and the phone not starting at all. So I went and flashed back to the android 8 that was on it before and the phone booted again, but I'm still not any step further.
Next idea was maybe the recovery is broken somehow, so I went to install TWRP. Following the instructions I copied the latest version zip onto the phone and booted the img through fastboot. So far everything is fine, but when I install the zip I will get several errors about "can't mount /persist". And the installation won't work.
At this point I am out of ideas, so maybe someone here can tell me if and how this can be fixed? I wasn't able to find any information on this issue, aside from some xiaomi phones can show similar errors with the /persist partition and TWRP.
Any help would be welcome.